The Way You Are
by McDiggin'It
Summary: He's everything she had hated. But what happens when he's nothing like the person she thought she knew... I seriously suck at summaries, so just go ahead and read it. :)


Title: The Way You Are

Summary:He's everything she had hated. But what happens when he's nothing like the person she thought she knew... I seriously suck at summaries.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter. Otherwise I would have talked J.K Rowling's into changing Barty Crouch Jr's side to the good side, and Hermione would've ended up with him. Nuff sed.

Author's Note: I suddenly had this newfound interest in the Barty/Hermione pairing a few days ago when I just finished reading a fanfic about the pairing, and it made so much sense in a way that the H/HR and RH/R pairings never did. It was like an epiphany! I wonder how I never realized how amazing this particular pairing could be. So I just started writing. I have no real plot in mind, just a load of fluffy storylines that should play out around the summary. Oh, and just a heads up, the story will seem completely AU, because some of the details are not even accurate. but don't say I didn't warn you.. because, "You have been warned!" Anyway, R&R!

-McDiggin'It

Chapter One:

* * *

-HB-

…

I had once deluded myself into believing all the load of crap that Professor Trelawney 'predicted' about my future… That I would end up with a Weasley, most likely, Ron. And for a few short weeks after the war was over, I was able to appreciate him and the way he thinks… Until it became a bit much. I started to realize how completely wrong we were for each other. He was too immature. Too paranoid, too clingy, too jealous, too dumb, and especially too annoying. He was always too much of something, and it occurred to me, that I never really liked him to begin with. I liked him enough as a friend, but that was really as far as my feelings would go for him. And now that we're not together anymore, I realize that I love him like a brother. Which is kind of disturbing, considering the fact that I had once dated him. But we're still friends after everything we've been through together.

Harry, is, well… he's Harry. He's always been Harry to me, and for me, he was always like a brother. Yes, at one point in my life, I had begun to harbor non-platonic feelings for him, but it quickly faded back to the platonic, sisterly feelings. We're friends. Still friends, and I love him for all that he's done for me. Being a friend to plain old me, protecting me when he can, respecting me, treating me kindly, and almost always taking my side over Ron's.

Together, Ron and Harry had been the only male interests in my life. Even Viktor Krum was nowhere near emitting feelings from within me. I thought of him as a handsome guy who took a special liking to me, and I've always thought of him as_ just _a friend; absolutely no feeling involved between us.

So, I simply thought I'd be destined to live my life without a life partner or soul mate… Until I met _him_.

Bartemius Crouch Jr. A former death eater who surprisingly survived the dementors kiss. No one knows how he could still have his soul after so many countless encounters with dementor's, but… he was, and is_ still_, as sane as ever. Simply for surviving, the Ministry of Magic had announced a death date for him, where Harry, Ron, and I had been invited to witness. To the Ministry, it was some sort of party, and they thought that we'd enjoy it as well. The invitation was rather thoughtful on the part of the Ministry, but… none of us liked the idea of watching someone die. Even if he had once been downright insane before, and is practically the reason why so many of our friends and family members are dead since he was the one to bring Voldemort back. We had never killed anyone on purpose before. Stun, injure, and stop, yes… but we never killed anyone intentionally. It would make us no different from the likes of Voldemort.

So as we declined the Ministry's invitation, we had to read on the Daily prophet the very next day, that the Ministry would be finishing off Crouch Jr. in three months' time. And I really never dwelled on the fact, or even really cared… That was, until, the very next week, Barty Crouch Jr. was released from Azkaban, all charges against him dropping, when the Ministry found out in a cleansing of him for his last and final moment before the killing curse would be performed on him, that he was under a very, _very_ powerful Imperius curse, and therefore, he had never once knowingly done anything wrong or illegal in any way, so they had no reason to keep him in Azkaban. Of course, they didn't just leave him to go strolling back into the wizarding world, so they ran a few tests that came out to be completely normal, and Barty Crouch Jr. checks out as an above average male with a brain.

When she actually sees and meets him for the first time, it's not your typical encounter at work or a local pub or anything normal of the sort. No… Hermione Granger meets the once notorious Bartemius Crouch Jr. in the Ministry elevator of all places.

The elevator doors were already beginning to slide shut when a hand shot out and held it, causing the doors to slide back. And imagine the way her skin crawled when she saw who the owner of the hand was. He steps in, barely looking at her, and with his head down. Hermione knows that he was under the influence of the Imperius curse when he tortured Neville's parent as well as Alastor Moody, and took countless innocent lives, but… she couldn't picture him as anything else than a murderer. He still held the wand that tortured and killed those people. He still uttered the unforgivable curses that sealed the fates of many. He still has the face that she saw on the Daily Prophet, with the headlines of '_Mass Murderer At Large'. _So when he glances in her direction, she feels a bit irked.

And then he spoke. "Hermione Granger." His voice, a bit scratchy and deep, probably from years of not speaking in so long while in the confines of a prison cell in Azkaban, was loud and clear.

She glances at him, her eyes glaring holes into him, silently demanding why he even knows her name.

As if he could read her expression, he goes about explaining. Though why, she's not sure. "The know-it-all from Gryffindor." His tongue darts out over his bottom lip just once, and she immediately narrows her eyes at him.

"How do you know that?"

He chuckles lightly with a shake of his head, "I was once your DADA teacher, Hermione."

She finds herself hating the way her name just rolls off his tongue like he's been saying it all his life. But she tries to remember the fact that he was once her DADA teacher, and as much as she hates to admit it, he had been one of the best DADA teachers she ever had. Simply because he was straightforward, honest, fair, and had taught them all how to defend themselves. "What are you doing here?"

He blinks at her as though it were obvious. "Didn't you hear? I've been cleared of all charges."

"Yes, I heard." Hermione snapped harshly. She knows it's really not his fault, but she can't help it. His face just brought back too many painful memories of the past, and reminded her that his face is the one that was on the Daily Prophet all those years ago. "And I meant what are you doing here in the Ministry."

He smirks then, and it completely annoys Hermione how he can manage to look like a god when he does that. She quickly shakes the thought away, going back to staring at the elevator doors.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here for work." He says with a pearly white smile. How he can keep his teeth looking so bright and shiny for nearly five years in Azkaban, is beyond her.

She narrows her eyes at him suspiciously, "Work? You already have a job?" she asks incredulously because how can that even be possible?

He nods, "Yes."

She waits, but it doesn't seem like he would be explaining the why and the how of the subject at hand, so she continues to stare at the door, wondering why it was taking so long for the elevator to pull to a halt already so she can be far away from the man standing beside her.

"Where do you work?" Barty asks.

Hermione glances at him, her eyes narrowing again, trying to find his motive in the question. "Why do you ask?" she asks snappishly.

He chuckles, shaking his head. "I forget that you still hate me because I'm still the person who… murdered and tortured all those innocent people."

She glances at him from her peripherals, and she can see the pained look on his face. The look of agony, guilt, and remorse. And she immediately feels like an idiot after that. It really wasn't his fault that all those people died at his hand. She sighs heavily, finally looking back at him. "I work on the sixty-eighth floor… Department of Magical Liaisons."

"A marriage counselor?" he asks a moment later.

Hermione shrugs, "Kind of."

He quirks an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

She glances back at him with a questioning look of her own. "Why not?"

He shrugs, "You're so smart and skillful, and talented… Why become a marriage counselor when you could become more?"

"More?" Hermione looks incredulously at him.

He nods. "Yes. You could've been the Mistress Of Magic by now had you taken a higher ranking career."

She blinks at him, wondering what he's playing at. "What does it matter to you?" she asks a bit harshly.

He looks away then, a light pink color settling onto his high and defined cheekbones. "I suppose it doesn't." he mutters quietly.

Hermione sighs lightly, glancing down at her feet. She can't seem to shake the feeling of suspicion about him, mostly because of whom she always believed he was… but it's different now. As she looks back at him, he's staring at the ceiling now, seemingly fascinated by the twirling skies above him. And she wonders how he had never lost his soul, even after the dementors kiss. All of the prisoners who were kissed by the dementors always looked dead. Deathly pale, extremely gaunt, eyes sunken in, long, slimy hairs, beards that rivaled the muggle world's Osama Bin Laden, and absolutely no life interest.

But him… He was the exact opposite of all those things. He had a naturally pale complexion, his dark brown-almost black hair sticks up in every direction at odd angles, he was a bit on the lean side, but she could see his muscles bulging against the fitted black suit he's wearing. His cheekbones, high and defined, his chocolate brown eyes, swirling with mirth and mischief, and life. His chin is cleanly shaven, his perfect pointed nose, curving outward in front of his face as he continues to stare at the ceiling, and his lips… a light pink color to it, quirking rather nicely at the side. His face is absolutely flawless, save for a few freckles here and there, and a tiny little scar above his left eyebrow. And he had absolutely no wrinkles whatsoever. He looked… well, he looks really good. Too good, even attractive.

He casts a side glance at her, having noticed that she was staring, and Hermione immediately looks away, hoping the heat rising on her face isn't showing in the slightest.

Finally, the elevator comes to a halt, and she steps out immediately, ready to take off, but she pauses, turning to glance back him. The elevator doors start to close, and he flashes a wide grin at her, his sparkling white teeth almost blinding. "I'll see you soon, Hermione Granger." He says, right before the doors fully closes.

Hermione's eyebrows furrow together, confused as to what he meant by that. She shrugs mentally, heading towards her office.

* * *

-BH-

…

She's even more intriguing than he had imagined. Last time he saw her, was nearly nine years ago, on the fields of the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts. And of course, she was pretty then, but now… now she was just too damn breathtakingly beautiful. Almost painfully so. Her once, somewhat wild hair, had been tamed perfectly to hang in long tufts of brown down her back. Her hazel colored eyes held so much knowledge and depth, that made her all the more beautiful. Her lips… well, he can't afford to be distracted by her lips.

Barty Crouch Jr. is snapped from his thoughts by Kingsley Shacklebolt, informing him that he is now free to head down to start out his new career. It's rather intriguing, actually. His life had ended the moment he graduated from Hogwarts. He has very little recollection of the night he was cursed with the Imperio, and all he can remember, was the agony and pain inside his chest as he was forced to torture, and kill for Voldemort. The motherfucker had tried to recruit him twice before, but Barty had stood his ground, telling off the psychopath the second time around. And so Voldemort decided to take matters into his own hands. He needed Barty. Well, he needed Barty's brain. Barty had graduated with outstanding NEWTS, OWLS, and high remarks in every subject that the wizarding world had to offer. He was the brains behind the invention of time-turners. He had created hexes and jinxes. He had mastered all four of the unforgiveable curses, not thinking that he'd ever use it on anyone. And so, like a curse, his brain had caused his downfall. He had torpedoed from the top of the academic ladder, and dwindled straight into the bottomless pit of darkness. Albeit, he was never himself after his graduation, but still… He lost majority of his life and memories to complete and total darkness.

Finally, he can start fresh.

Kingsley hands him a piece of paper, informing Barty that the paper would contain his designated career in the Ministry, the name of his mentor, and his schedule. Barty nods his thanks, getting up out of his seat. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Minister."

Kingsley smiles fondly. He had always liked Barty when he was in school, and he feels a bit ashamed that he had truly believed that Barty had changed over to the dark side. "The pleasure is mine, Barty… and please, call me Kingsely."

Barty nods curtly, taking a swift bow before finally retreating towards the doors. He's smiling the entire time, eager and excited to get started on his new career. Until he read the paper in his hands.

_Bartemius Timothy Crouch Jr._

_You have been specifically assigned by the Ministry of Magic, to start your new career in the Department of Magical Liaisons, located on the sixty-eighth floor of the Ministry Building. You will submit your copy of your schedule to the receptionist of the Department of Magical Liaisons, where you will then be informed of your Mentor's name, and office number. Please report to duty at your scheduled time, and may you have a wonderful day. Welcome back, Mr. Crouch._

_-Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister Of Magic_

Barty blinks incredulously at his letter as he steps into the elevator. "You have got to be fucking kidding me. I rank highest in my class and they're making me a marriage counselor?" He sighs heavily. He's in no place to argue with the Minister, so he just angrily stabs the sixty-eighth floor button with his thumb, while trying to glare holes into the elevator door.

The elevator stops with its usual loud _DING! _And the doors slide away, revealing the floor where he would be working for god knows how long. He steps out cautiously, glancing around, until he sees the receptionist at the front desk. He crosses the floor to the desk, dropping the piece of paper onto the front desk, in front of the receptionist. She doesn't even look up, only going about processing his copy, before charming out another copy to keep on record. She hands his copy back as another piece of paper appears on her desk to her right. She grabs it, handing it over to him. He doesn't smile at her, and she doesn't smile back. They've come to a mutual understanding. _I don't give a damn about you, and you don't give a damn about me. _He nods at her, walking away as he begins to read the new piece of paper.

_Bartemius Timothy Crouch Jr. _

_Report to Office NO.209_

Barty sighs, walking by office doors, with plaques and names he doesn't recognize. Finally, he comes to a halt in front of the door he's been assigned to. Office Number 209. He glances back down, reading the rest of his letter.

_You are hereby assigned to be mentored by- _

He pulls his eyes away from the letter, looking up at the door in utter confusion. When he stares back at the letter, he finds that he wasn't just hallucinating when he saw the name of his soon-to-be-mentor.

_You are hereby assigned to be mentored by Miss Hermione Granger. She will be your guide and mentor, explaining the functions and duties of a Magical Liaison Officer. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors, and may you thrive in this Department. _

_-Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister Of Magic._

Barty continues to stare at his letter, wondering if this was some sort of joke. Surely, they won't force a thirty-two year old man to be mentored and supervised by a twenty-something year old girl… but then he doubts the Minister of Magic would joke about such matters.

He shrugs his shoulders, taking a deep breath, before finally raising his hand to the doorknob and twisting it open.

* * *

A/N: Let me know if you'd like a chapter two! I mean, I'm definitely gonna write it, but it's still a bit of a motivator to know that people are actually reading it. super excited about writing this story! REVIEWS are absolutely encouraged here. ;)

-McDiggin'It


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